Moments towards Unification

Chung Ju-yung’s Cattle Crossing into N. Korea in 1998

2018-06-07

The tree-planting event is cited as one of the most memorable scenes of the inter-Korean summit on April 27 this year, along with the private conversation of the two leaders of South and North Korea at the Foot Bridge. That day, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un jointly planted a pine tree that dates back to 1953, the year the Korean War ended in an armistice, in a symbolic move to heal the 65-year-long pain and scars and to take a first step toward inter-Korean peace and prosperity. The tree was planted on the so-called “cattle road” near the Military Demarcation Line that separates the two Koreas. The road was used when the late Hyundai Group honorary chairman Chung Ju-yung led a herd of cattle to North Korea in 1998. Today, we’ll look back on the Hyundai Group founder’s landmark visit to North Korea with hundreds of cows that year.

On the morning of June 16, 1998, Chung Ju-yung left his home in Jongno-gu district in Seoul. His heart was racing with excitement, as he was about to realize his dream of inter-Korean economic cooperation, which he had cherished for ten years. Here is Kim Hong-in, executive director at the communications office of Hyundai Group, to explain.

Chairman Chung traveled to North Korea in January 1989 as the first South Korean civilian to visit the North. At the time, he signed an agreement with North Korean authorities on various inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, including the development of Mt. Geumgang in the North. But the agreement wasn’t implemented for nearly ten years due to the North Korean nuclear issue. After the inauguration of the Kim Dae-jung government in South Korea in 1998, Seoul and Pyongyang began to talk about peace and a favorable mood was formed. Against the backdrop, the projects Chung had tried to carry out began to materialize one after another.

As Mr. Kim explained, Chung was the first South Korean civilian to officially visit North Korea since the end of the Korean War, although he traveled to the North at the invitation of then-Workers’ Party Secretary Huh Dam. After his North Korea visit, though, economic cooperation between South and North Korea made no progress due to stalled inter-Korean relations. Fortunately, the so-called Sunshine Policy advocated by the Kim Dae-jung government helped create a positive mood for bilateral economic cooperation. Riding on the momentum, Chung considered driving a herd of cattle to his hometown in North Korea.

There’s probably no one who doesn’t miss their hometown, but this feeling is even stronger for those who left their North Korean homes.

Chung’s hometown is Asan-ri, Tongchon County in Gangwon Province, now in North Korea. He was attached to his home so deeply that he even used the penname “Asan.” He left home when he was 17 years old. Let’s hear again from Mr. Kim.

Chung often said that he had run away from home with 70 won his father had from selling the family cow. With the seed money of 70 won, he developed Hyundai Group into South Korea’s leading conglomerate and a global company. Apart from his achievements in South Korea, he dreamed of returning home as a successful businessman and leading inter-Korean economic cooperation. As the first step, he pushed for the historic cattle drive.

Based on the 70 won he had taken from his father, Chung took on new challenges repeatedly in South Korea to grow Hyundai Group into a global firm. His company built the Gyeongbu Expressway, the main artery that led the nation’s economic growth, developed the first homegrown car, the Pony, and eventually built the world’s largest shipyard. And 66 years after he left home, he departed for North Korea with a long line of trucks carrying cattle, to pay back his late father a thousand times for his wrongdoing in his youth. As he crossed the Military Demarcation Line with the first batch of 500 cattle, Chung expressed his feelings with a trembling voice.

Now, I’m visiting my home that I have missed even in my dreams for all those years to pay for the cow, which has now become a thousand cows. I sincerely hope that this trip will not end up being just a visit to my hometown, but will be a steppingstone to reconciliation and peace between South and North Korea.

The historic moment of the truce village of Panmunjeom, the symbol of division and confrontation, turning into a passageway for people and materials was relayed by American news channel CNN to audiences all over the world. World-renowned author and economist Guy Sorman described the scene as “the last avant-garde art of the 20th century.” This extraordinary North Korea visit by a South Korean civilian drew worldwide attention and indeed paved the way for inter-Korean cooperation and exchanges. Mr. Kim explains the progress in inter-Korean ties after Chung’s North Korea visit.

During his eight-day stay in North Korea, Chung discussed details about joint inter-Korean economic projects. The first outcome was produced on November 18, 1998, when a cruise ship carrying 882 tourists left the South Korean port of Donghae for a trip to the scenic North Korean mountain of Geumgang. After the first cruise ship tour to Mt. Geumgang, Hyundai Group continued to run the joint Mt. Geumgang tour project, which became a symbol of inter-Korean peace. Later, the two Koreas established an industrial park in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong. A number of South Korean small-and mid-sized firms manufactured and exported good-quality products at the joint factory park that combined South Korea’s capital and technology with North Korea’s excellent workforce. Chung’s cattle crossing into North Korea positively influenced both the Mt. Geumgang tour program and the Gaeseong industrial park business.

Chung stayed in North Korea for eight days until June 23 and agreed on inter-Korean joint projects, including the Mt. Geumgang tour program. On October 27, he sent the second batch of 501 cattle to North Korea. One month later, the Mt. Geumgang tour program was launched. In June 2000, then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il held the first-ever inter-Korean summit. In August that year, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed on the creation of a joint industrial complex in Gaeseong. Two years later, in 2002, two cross-border rail lines on the western and eastern sides of the Korean Peninsula began operation on a trial basis. In 2007, South Korean tours to Gaeseong started. Without a doubt, Chung’s North Korea visit with a herd of cattle opened a new era of inter-Korean economic cooperation. Until 2000, Chung visited North Korea eight times and met with former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il three times. When Chung died in 2001 at the age of 86, North Korea dispatched a condolence delegation to the South. Unfortunately, inter-Korean economic cooperation declined after the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in 2010 and North Korea’s artillery attack on South Korea’s border island of Yeonpyeong in the same year. But Mr. Kim says that the deeply moving experience in 1998 is reviving this year.

June 16 this year will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Chung’s cattle drive. Recalling the touching moment, I still get emotional. Through Chung’s impressive visit, Hyundai Group’s sincerity was delivered to North Korea, which opened its mind. As a result, various inter-Korean projects were implemented successfully. In this sense, Chung’s visit to North Korea with the cattle is considered to be the beginning of South-North economic cooperation and an important momentum to lay the groundwork for inter-Korean peace and hopefully unification. Two leaders of South and North Korea jointly planted a tree on the “cattle road” during their summit in April this year. The significant event reminded many people of Chung’s notable North Korea visit 20 years ago.